ASK THE LITURGIST (11) – “This is the Word of the Lord”?

– Enrico Finotti

Why do some readers, among those more “committed,” end the reading by saying: “This is the word of the Lord?” Is there freedom of formulation?

Already the change of the established formula is mistaken, because the Church has thought of its formulas and some of them have taken centuries of reflection and theological debate that was never insignificant. Think of some steps in the profession of faith. Therefore we must always keep focused on the mind of the Church which has chosen a specific formulation, preferring it to others. The awareness that the liturgical rite is of the Church and is not the creation of private persons must always make us attentive to the easy temptation of subjective changes and substitutions. Not rarely, expressions considered harmless reveal profound theological values and, superficial variations made with sufficient tone, can compromise the right doctrine and the right way to celebrate.

In particular, the Verbum Domini (“The Word of the Lord”) with which the reader concludes the biblical lesson has the character of acclamation and not of declaration. It is not a matter of declaring before the assembly that what has been read is the word of God, but of arousing in the same assembly an acclamation of faith and love in response to the proclaimed word of God. For this reason it would be more in keeping with the nature of the expression here considered his performance in singing with the melodic response of the whole people: Deo gratias / Laus tibi, Christe. In this sense, the Latin language combined with the Gregorian melody offers a perfect mode of execution, which in its simplicity highlights the gradual growth towards the summit of the liturgy of the word, the Gospel reading. From the low tone foreseen for the prophetic lesson, passing to the higher one of the apostolic lesson, the climax in the proper tone of the Gospel text is reached. The short acclamation in Latin is so elementary and understandable for everyone, that it would not need translations and could constitute that heritage of universal elements that would enrich the liturgy. However, the intent to propose melodically the final acclamations of the readings, at least in the solemn celebrations, should not be abandoned.

FORMULA AFTER THE GOSPEL

Not all priests, but our senior priest, after kissing the lectionary, always says this invocation: “May the Word of the Gospel cleanse us of our faults.” I checked and saw that it is actually present in the ordinary of the Mass. What’s the meaning?

The Latin language is expressed at a pace that is easy to believe and simple to understand: Per evangelica dicta, deleantur nostra delicta. The short prayer that the priest recites quietly, immediately after reading the Holy Gospel, is part of that personal devotion, which the liturgy provides at various points of the rites to keep alive the spiritual attention of the priest. These prayers are particularly frequent in the presentation of the offerings and as preparation for Holy Communion. They are called ‘apologies’ because they repeatedly invoke that inner dignity, which is so necessary to celebrate the divine sacrifice with fruit. In particular, this post-evangelical invocation refers us to what happened after the first homily pronounced in the Church, the discourse of St Peter on the day of Pentecost. Then, in Jerusalem, many felt their hearts pierced and told Peter and the other apostles: What should we do, brothers? And Peter said: Repent and every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins (Acts 2: 37-38). Hence, listening to the word of God produces conversion and conversion obtains the remission of sins. Well with this stringent formula it invokes that forgiveness of sins, which is consequent to the conversion provoked by the fruitful listening of the word of God. We pass directly from the initial term – the word of the gospel – to the final term – cancel our sins – supposing the median passage – conversion – which is the most authentic fruit of listening to the word of God and which is indispensable for obtaining the remission of sins. A more discursive and explicit formulation should say: The word of the gospel arouses in us conversion, because, through conversion and penance, our sins are erased. Somehow in the brief apology the priest invokes for himself and, consequently, for all the people, the same effects of grace, which followed with such abundance on the square of Jerusalem, after the first preaching of Peter. That event then continues in the Church, whenever the Scriptures are proclaimed in the liturgical assembly and that the gift of penance, which cancels sins, is offered by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is evident that here we are not dealing with a form of absolution in the strict sense, but of a pious prayer like the sacramentals.